Brassiere construction



Aug. 25, 1959 M. L6PEZHENRIQUEZ BRASSIERE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 15, 1956 United States Patent G BRASSIERE CONSTRUCTION Miguel Lopez-Henriquez, Bronx, NY.

Application July 13, 1956, Serial No. 597,744

4 Claims. (Cl. 128-476) The present invention relates to a ladys garment of the bust covering type which will, for convenience, hereinafter be referred to as a brassiere, the term brassiere being used to designate an undergarment or outer garment having a bust covering portion.

It is an object of the invention to provide a brassiere of improved construction. In particular, the invention is directed to providing improved means for defining and supporting the breast pockets of a brassiere so as to provide maximum flexibility in selected directions in order to afford maximum comfort to the wearer, while at the same time providing rigidity and strength in other directions to retain the correct shape and relationship of the breast pockets and associated portions of the garment when it is being worn.

The objects and advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the following description and claims in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example a preferred embodiment of the invention and in which:

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of a brassiere in accordance with the invention shown on a model.

Fig. 2 is a partial front view on a larger scale.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross section taken approximately on the line 3-3 in Fig. 2 and showing a spring member for defining and supporting each breast pocket.

Fig. 4 is a front view of one of the spring members, one end being magnified and having portions broken away to show the construction in greater detail.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section taken approximately on the line 5-5 in Fig. 4, and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section taken approximately on the line 6-6 in Fig. 4.

The brassiere shown by way of example in the drawings to illustrate the novel construction in accordance with the invention comprises a body portion 1 and two breast pockets 2. The body portion 1 is adapted to engaged the body of the wearer adjacent the breasts and in particular between, under and at the sides of the breasts. It is shown as comprising a central panel 3 and two side panels 4 which extend around the sides of the wearer and continue into a back portion which can be of conventional construction and is hence not shown in the drawings. In accordance with common practice, the back portion is provided with suitable fastening means for securing the brassiere in place so that the body portion 1 closely embraces and conforms to the body of the wearer.

The breast pockets 2 are of general circular or avoid shape and are convex to conform to the shape of the breasts. The breast pockets are shown as comprising upper portions 5 and lower portions 6 joined to one another along a line 7 in such a way as to obtain the desired configuration. The lower edge portions of the breast pockets are joined to the body portion 1 along a line 8 that is approximately semi-circular. The upper portions of the breast pockets project upwardly above the body portion. The edges of the brassiere are suitably finished for example by hemming or binding as indicated,

" portion of the brassiere, being provided with suitable adjustable fastening means 11.

In accordance with the invention, a spring member 15 of particular construction as hereinafter described is associated with each of the breast pockets 2 in order to cooperate with the associated portions of the brassiere in defining and supporting the breast pockets. Each of the spring members 15 is of arcuate shape the term arcuate being herein used in the sense of being curved without necessarily being the exact arc of the circle. As shown in the drawings, the spring members 15 are approximately semi-circular and extend along the lower peripheries of the breast pockets where the pockets join the body portion 1, but if desired, the spring members may be disposed above the breast pockets and the peripheral extent of the spring members may be varied according to the desired structure of the brassiere. The spring members 15 are suitably incorporated in the brassiere so as to form an integral part of it. To facilitate insertion of the spring members, the brassiere is shown provided with a tunnel 16 that extends along the junction of the body portion 1 with each of the breast pockets 2. The spring members slip into and fit snugly in the tunnels 16. Each of the spring members 15 is shown as extending approximately half way around the breast pocket. As illustrated more particularly in Fig. 3, the tunnel 16 is formed by a strip or tape of material 17 stitched to the fabric of the brassiere by lines of stitching 18.

Each of the spring members 15 comprises a plurality of like leaves 20 superposed on one another and enclosed in a sheath 21. The leaves 20 are formed of thin spring sheet material, for example spring steel. They are sufficiently thin to be highly flexible, having for example a thickness of the order of .003 to .006 inches, a preferred thickness being .005 inch. The width of each of the leaves is of the order of inch to inch. The leaves thus have a high width to thickness ratio. The spring leaves 20 are formed in any suitable manner for example by bending a thin ribbon of steel edgewise before tempering, the ribbon being confined to a plane during bending to prevent buckling. Preferably, however, the leaves are stamped or otherwise cut in arcuate form from suitable sheet material. This avoids any residual internal stresses that might result from bending. In the construction shown in the drawings, the leaves 20 are unattached to one another except for being held together by the sheath 21. However, if desired, they may be tacked lightly together at two or three spaced points, for example at the ends and middle by spot welding or spots of adhesive to facilitate assembling the leaves and keeping them together while the sheath 21 is applied. As shown in the drawings, all of the leaves are alike and are of the same length. The ends are preferably rounded as indicated at 23 (Fig. 1).

While the number of leaves in the spring members 15 may be varied within reasonable limits according to the desired characteristics of the brassiere and the thickness and width of the leaves, it is preferred to have at least three and not more than six leaves. A preferred construction uses five blades each of which is about .005 inch thick and one eighth inch wide.

The sheath 21 is formed of fabric, plastic or other suitable material that is sufficiently flexible to permit the flexing of the spring as described below. As shown in the drawings, the sheath 21 is in the form of a flattened Patented Aug. 25, 1959 plastic tube which closely embraces the leaves 20'a'nd" holds them together. Alternatively, the sheath may be applied as a fluid coating which subsequently sets to. form a plastic cove-ring or'a film'gor strip ofplastieinratee ri'aImayjbe wrapped around the assembledspn'ng leaves.

At leastyoiie' end of;the',sheath 21 is preferably rounded; an'dsmooth as indicatedat 24 to facilitate insertion of the assembled spring member 15 into the tunnel 1'6; By reason of its multi-leafconstruction, the spring memher 15 is'hi'ghly flexible in adirection perpendicular to its plane, Le. a direction perpendicular to the plane of tlrepaperin Fig; 4, so that the spring" member bends,

readily to conform to'the' curvature of thebody. However, the. spring member 15.strongly resists bendingin an edgewise, direction as long as it is held against" twisting:

sion of the side. portions 4'when the brassiere is fastened tightly around the body of the wearer. If it were notfor the spring members 15, such forces would tend to flatten out-the breastpockets. However, because of their relative rigidity with respect to edgewise. bending, the spring members '15 are eflective in retaining the shape of thebreast pockets and prevent their being flattened out;

Itwillbe understood'that the construction inaccordancewith the invention is in' no way limited to the particular embodiment shown by way of example in the drawingsgbnt maybe modifiedas desired withinthe scope of the: appended claims.

What I claimand desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

'l. A 'brassiere comprising a fabric body portion adapted to embrace closely the; body. of the. wearer. be-

low and at the sides of"the breasts, a pair of breast and slidable ononeranother. and a single sheath of flexible material" closely embracing all" of said leaves and holding thenrtogether in a: single unit,..said-spring members beinghighly flexibleto bending transversely to the plane of said spring" memberand highly resistant to bending in an ed'gewisefiirectionso;as:to; resist distortion of the breast pockets, the body portion of said brassiere holding said spring members against the body and cooperating with said spring members from twisting or bucklingwhen subjected to edgewise forces.

22 A brassiere' according to claim 1; in which each of"saidsp ring members comprises at least three andnot' more than six metallic leaves each having a thickness of the order of'.003 to..006 inch.

3. A brassiere according totclaim l; in; which. said sheath comprises flatplastic tubing.

4; A. 'brassicre according to claim 1, in which each. of said" spring members is approximately semicircular and is incorporated in said brassiere so as to extend below the respective breastpocket.

References Citedin the the of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS.

1,581,962. Kispert Apr. 20'; I926 2,230,788. 'Ullendahl v Feb. 4,. 1.941. 2,506,639, Gordon May 9,1950 2,702;9i0.7 'Berniker, et a1. l Mar; 1, 1955. $705,800" sehwartznumu, Apr. 12, 1955. 

